Category: Writing Style Outcasts
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Friday’s Findings: Should You Add a Prologue?
Five years ago, I did a series called Writing Style Outcasts. It’s been a while since I’ve talked about one of these misfits of grammar. I’ve discovered the question is not why shouldn’t I use them but is when to use them. I’d like to add prologues to these misfits of the writing craft. A…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Passive Voice
You may have heard using the passive voice is “incorrect.” In fiction writing, however, the passive voice can be used. It is not so much incorrect as “When is it appropriate?” Before discussing the answer to that question, I’d like to offer a brief review of the difference between passive voice and active voice. Sentences…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Telling
Geez, “telling” gets treated like like the weird kid at school, but it’s an important tool in the writing and editing process. Stop harassing it! You’ve all heard, “Show don’t tell.” The thing is, the writer is suppose to use both. Usually, I use telling at the beginning of the scene. If the reader needs…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Exclamation Marks
“An exclamation point is like laughing at your own jokes.” F. Scott Fitzgerald As the author of classics such as The Great Gatsby and This Side of Paradise has said in the above quote, the exclamation point is like that guy who utters stupid jokes and laughs at himself. Followed by that awkward silence. In…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Adjectives
Not the cool kids at school. This is a series on the aspects of writing style that are bullied. But they serve a purpose. Yesterday, I talked about adverbs. Today, I talk about adjectives. Descriptors like adjectives and adverbs are kicked out the writing style kingdom like lepers. “Don’t use adverbs!” “Don’t use adjectives!” But…
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Writing Style Outcasts: Adverbs
High school cliques appear in most young adult fiction. And in real life. Yes, they are tropes found in 13 Reasons Why, The Hate You Give and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but that’s only because cliques actually do exist in high schools. Yes, the popular kids roam around like royalty because they’ve managed…
Andrew M. Friday 